The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-06-25
LESSON FOR JULY 8, 1887.
THE NEW TESTAMENT.
Matthew ii. 1-12.]

The Holy Scriptures (Sacred Writings)
comprise the Old and New Testaments (Cov-
enants,. We believe that these contain
revelation of the character of COP, and OF
the duty, interest and final destiny of man
kind. Winchester Profession of Belief. The
Old Testament is a record of the revelation
of GoD in the history of people divinely
led and instructed. The New Testament is
the record of revelation in the person and
mission of JESUS the CHRIST, ga man ap-
proved of COP by mighty works and won
ders and signs which COP did by him" (Acts
ii. 22). The New Testament is the fulflment
of the Old. JESUS came not to destroy the
law and the prophets (the Hebrew Script
ures); but to fulfil Matthew V. ID. What
was prophesied and declared in the Old
Testament is accomplished in the New. The
New Testament contains the real (true) of
which tie Old was the shadow and type.
The New Testament consists of twenty
seven different books or distinct documents,
written by nine, perhaps ten, different au-
thors; four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles,
twenty-one Epistles, and Revelation. They
were written in the Greek language, with the
exception of the first Gospel, which may have
been originally written in Hebrew, at differ
emit times and for different purposes, during
the first century Our English New Tesla
ment is q translation from Greek original,
which is itself copy of copies, the original
being no longer in existence. The genuine
ness and substantial correctness of the copy
Is attested by comparison with series of
XLA of fhn
Apostes-from Clement of Rome, who was a
disciple of the Apostles, and probably a fell
w-worker with st. Paul philippians iv. 81,
onward. These patristic writings abound in
statements and quotations that are substan-
TALLY identical with passages found in all
parts of the New Testament. The Oldest
known manuscript copy of the New Tesla
ment is the Siniatic (Codex Sinaiticos), dis
covered by Tischendorf in 1859, in the con-
vent of Mt. Sinai, and dates from early in the
fourth century. There are about fifty copies
of the New Testament now known to be In
existence that are more than thousand
years old. A Latin translation, the Vulgate,
was made by Jerome about A. ID. 400. The
first English translation was made from this
by Wickliffe in 1880. The latest version is
revision of all previous translations, after
careful comparison with the best authenti-
Gated original text. The Revised New Tesla
ment was completed in 1880 having been
made by twenty-six English and fifteen
American scholars.
The books of the New Testament may be
classified as Historic, Didactic and Pro-
phetic. The Gospels and Acts are mainly
historical. The Gospels contain separate
and independent accounts of the life and
ministry of JESUS, the Son and Sent of COP
to be the Saviour of the world. The Acts re-
cord the labors of the Apostles inspired by
the Holy Spirit, and the organization and
primitive history of the Christian Church,
the embodiment of the kingdom of heaven
upon the earth. The Epistles contain the
apostolic teaching founded upon the Gospel
of CHRIST, concerning the administration of
the Church and the Divine methods of spirit
ual life and salvation. The book of Revela-
ton proclaims the triumph of CHRIsr's king
dom in the world, the complete and final
overthrow of sin and suffering, and the
supremacy of COP and goodness the at
tainment of holiness and happiness in all the
universe.